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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25234540">The Gavotte Incident</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellarmnky/pseuds/stellarmnky'>stellarmnky</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Good Omens (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(not necessarily on that order), Kissing, M/M, Misunderstandings, drunken dancing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:21:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,380</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25234540</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellarmnky/pseuds/stellarmnky</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Crowley slept through Aziraphale's gavotte phase. When the angel wanted to dance, he made a series of misinterpretations.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>64</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Gavotte Incident</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As inconvenient as things had been so far, Crowley would have to thank the antichrist someday for the impending armageddon. Thanks to it he had been seeing Aziraphale a lot more recently, after all, and would probably continue to do so for the next decade.</p><p>Their meetings were part of an arrangement to figure out a way to stop it, or so they’d say. It just so happens that fancy dinners and heavy drinking became an inevitable part of them as well.</p><p>The hatching of a plan was still their top priority, of course, but that wasn’t to say they didn’t have any time to engage in other activities as well, which generally gravitated towards drinking and chatting by the back of Aziraphale’s bookshop.</p><p>Crowley didn’t talk much whenever they met, but would gladly listen to Aziraphale for hours on end. There was plenty to catch up to—that part just came naturally with being immortal and whatnot—so his angel would often go on about about his days, both past and present, down to the smallest details.</p><p>That’s exactly what he was doing when a particular detail caught Crowley’s attention.</p><p>“Things are not like they were on the nineteenth century, you know,” Aziraphale ended one of his drunken rambles, swaying his glass of wine around. “Those were the good old days, that’s all I’m saying.”</p><p>“The nineteenth century?” Crowley echoes his statement, struggling to sort through quite a few millennia of memories after helping Aziraphale empty some bottles of wine. “Funny, I don’t remember much about it.” </p><p>“That’s because you slept through the entirety of it,” Aziraphale promptly explained with a subtle, resentful pout. “Humanity peaked there, and things just haven’t been the same ever since.”</p><p>“Is that so?” Crowley said dryly, raising his eyebrows in an unconvinced manner. “What’s so good about it?”</p><p>The question had been brought without much thought to the table, so that could easily explain Crowley’s confusion when he caught sight of Aziraphale letting out a long exhale as he stared dramatically at the distance “Ah, I still remember the times I’ve spent at those clubs in France.” </p><p>Crowley threw his head back, visibly surprised at the comment. “You? <em> Clubbing? </em>”</p><p>Aziraphale shifted in his chair, raising his chin slightly as he looked at Crowley from the corner of his eyes. “Yes. Is that a problem?”</p><p>Crowley cleared his throat. “No, no, of course not,” he quickly added with an apologetic shake of his head. If Aziraphale didn’t make a fuss about it, he sure as hell wouldn’t, either. “Never thought you’d be the type to do so, that’s all.”</p><p>Something about that sudden turn of events bothered Crowley, though. It worried him that there was a part of Aziraphale he hadn’t known until then, and he could feel himself growing anxious about what places such conversation could possibly lead them. </p><p>As if to confirm his worries, Aziraphale giddly tapped his fingers on the writing desk beside him, possibly reminiscing the delightful experiences he had unbeknownst to Crowley's knowledge back in France.</p><p>“I spent quite a few pleasant nights with the gentlemen there,” he finally confessed. “We’d lose ourselves in the moment, and before I knew it, it would be dawn already!” </p><p>As it turned out, Crowley’s decision of taking another sip of wine proved to be a bad one when Aziraphale’s words had him nearly choking in his drink. </p><p>“Doing <em> what </em>, exactly?” He dared to ask.</p><p>“Being their partner, of course,” Aziraphale answered without batting an eye. “And there were quite a few, I must say. Sometimes I worried I wouldn’t be able to handle them all.”</p><p>Crowley felt as if the ground had started to crumble beneath his feet. Up to that moment he had been fully aware that Aziraphale had never been one to resist indulging in some earthly desires every now and then, but to say had he had greatly underestimated exactly <em> how much </em> would be an understatement.</p><p>His astonishment had been so great he didn’t move at all. He just swallowed hard and tried to distract himself from imagining someone else touching Aziraphale in ways he had spent ages dreaming about, as well as the sudden urge to hunt down every each one of them—or their descendants, for that matter—and completely erase them out of existence.</p><p>“You never told me about any of this,” he lamented at last, settling for not pursuing any murderous intent for the time being. The sheer disappointment of not being around to seduce Aziraphale on whatever club he went to hundreds of years earlier was far greater than anything else.</p><p>Aziraphale tilted his head slightly and shrugged. “Well, I’m telling you now, I suppose.”</p><p>“So that’s it then,” Crowley exclaimed, throwing his arms around after letting out an exasperated huff of air. “You’re just letting me know like it’s nothing?”</p><p>“<em> Like I said </em>, things have changed since then,” Aziraphale calmly explained, drawing the words as if Crowley was missing the point of something completely obvious. “Those days are long gone, and-- pardon me, dear, I don’t get why you sound so upset about it?”</p><p>“Oooh, right, of course you don’t,” Crowley lashed out, unable to contain his frustrations any longer. “I mean, it’s really too bad you don’t have your <em> french buddies </em> around anymore. Too bad you only have <em> me! </em>”</p><p>A curtain of silence hang heavily between them. Upon realizing what had just said, Crowley couldn’t bear to hold Aziraphale’s intense stare any longer.</p><p>“Are you saying you’d do it, Crowley?” he heard the angel ask in a grave tone. “Are you saying you’d do it with me?”</p><p>His face looked deadly serious when their eyes met again, a direct contrast to Crowley’s incoherent babbling as he pathetically tried to tell him that yes, he’d very much like to. As a matter of fact he had never wanted anything more in his entire life.</p><p>Fortunately for him, Aziraphale didn’t wait for an intelligible reply before going on.</p><p>“That’s not a bad idea, actually,” he cheerfully added, suddenly beaming with excitement. “Not bad at all!”</p><p>Crowley stared dumbfounded, practically in shock as Aziraphale proceeded to take off his coat and started unbuttoning his vest. </p><p>For about as long as they’ve known each other, Crowley had decided that he should be bracing for surprises every now and then, but that was just too much. </p><p>Aziraphale placed his clothes on a chair next to the bottles of wine that had been returned to their original, unopened state moments before as if the act is no big deal, and the demon sitting beside him could even argue that his celestial companion <em> looked forward </em> to whatever came next. </p><p>Too bad he couldn’t bring himself to feel the same just yet. Not with the lingering tension that accompanied his loss of control over the situation. Demons might be scheming creatures by nature, but Aziraphale taking the lead just wasn’t on the list of things his underhanded plans could have possibly anticipated. He was supposed to be bashful and coy about the whole thing. Writhe and squirm in response to his teasing but ultimately give in to temptation like he always did. More importantly, Aziraphale was supposed to be a complete and utter fool to the mysterious arts of human lovemaking-- like<em> he </em> was. </p><p>Yet, in direct contrast to his expectations that might or might not be products of his obvious projections, Aziraphale rolled up his sleeves and stretched his arms as if he was getting ready for a bloody marathon. </p><p>In the midst of it all, Crowley couldn’t help but contemplate the irony of the situation. Funny of how questions were apparently enough to get you banished from heaven back in the day, yet this clueless angel got away with doing <em> God knows what </em> to some gentlemen while he took a nap through the 19th century. Crowley had seen plenty of club action over the years, alright, and he could safely assure anyone who asked that there was hardly anything <em> holy </em> about them. </p><p>Those were concerns for another time, though. Hard to stay upset when he took the unimaginable amount of progress he made on that night into account. Aziraphale could barely acknowledge they were friends, and now they were about to skip past all frivolous formalities to <em> get it on </em>in the back of a dimly lit bookshop. </p><p>From two supernatural beings chilling five feet apart when they went out on dates because they were sworn enemies to forbidden lovers about to consummate their repressed feelings after downright agreeing to rebel against their respective parties. </p><p>Truly a sign of the end times. </p><p>After succeeding on the conscious effort of closing his mouth, which had been hanging open in awe until then, Crowley took off his jacket and threw it over his head, not looking to fall too far behind his partner on that whole seduction business. It’s the only article of clothing he got to remove before Aziraphale’s idle fidgeting caught his attention, though. Finally, an action he could recognize. </p><p>“What is it, angel?” he asked cautiously. </p><p>"Oh? <em> Oh, </em> It's just that- it’s been quite a while since I've done this,” he stammered, twiddling his thumbs. “I’m afraid I might be quite out of shape." </p><p>"I don't judge," Crowley immediately replied, throwing his hands up defensively. "That sounds more like something <em> your </em>lot would like to do, honestly." </p><p>The rigid cast of Aziraphale’s shoulders relaxed, changing his posture as he let out a sigh of relief. </p><p>"I must warn you though,” he added, turning to face him. “Since it's your first time you might end up feeling a bit sore afterwards." </p><p>Crowley let the words hang around the air like he needed some time to process the promises behind them. </p><p>"Not a problem," he finally gasped, far too quickly to even notice the slight creak in his voice. "Not in the slightest. I can take it." </p><p>Aziraphale's prying eyes squinted as he studied Crowley up and down. </p><p>"How high can you hold up your legs?" </p><p>The blunt question made Crowley’s breath catch in his throat, and for the next few seconds that follow he feared having to go through the entire process of remembering how to breathe altogether. </p><p>"Pretty high,” he guessed without any particular basis, unconsciously leaning closer to Aziraphale as the heat of desire took hold of him. “As high as you want." </p><p>"I see. Dear boy, I <em> have </em> taken notice before of how flexible you seem to be," the angel giggled in response. </p><p>"I am," Crowley quickly nodded, surprised by how badly he found himself craving his touch. "I can do anything. Whatever the <em> fuck </em> you want, angel, just-" </p><p>"<em>Crowley!</em>" </p><p>"<em>Ugh, </em> come on,” he whined, dragging the words in a way that could certainly put any spoiled human brat to shame. “I'm sorry, just- I’m begging you, <em> please-</em>" </p><p>Time seemed to stop when Aziraphale turned a smile to him—one of those big, beaming smiles that made his heart flutter in a pathetic display of human vulnerability—only resuming when the joy was suddenly wiped out of his face, clouded by a visible twist of concern. </p><p>"Oh, that's too bad," the angel cried out, whipping his face somewhere else across the room. </p><p>Crowley jumped forward in surprise. </p><p>"What?” he asked through gritted teeth, one hundred percent decided to obliterate anything or anyone that posed a threat to their moment with a magical snap his fingers. “<em>What is it?</em>" </p><p>"I'm afraid I don’t have any flowers around,” he pouted after a long, disappointed sigh. </p><p>"Aw, geez," Crowley mumbled, relaxing back into the sofa as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You already took me out to dinner, isn’t that enough chivalry for the night?" </p><p>The cheesy line is accompanied by a playful wink, but Aziraphale seemed far too lost in his thoughts to notice. </p><p>"Hm?” he looked up after a moment of silence. “I’m sorry, did you say something, dear?" </p><p>Crowley looked away with a dismissive wave of his hand, not wanting to go through the embarrassment again. </p><p>"Ah, well, I suppose it can't be helped," Aziraphale decided, shaking his head with a nervous smile. "We'll do it the old way!" </p><p>"Ooh, is that so?" Crowley smirks despite having no idea what that meant, shifting closer so they were merely inches apart. "The anticipation is killing me." </p><p>Everything build up to that moment, but before Crowley had the chance to move Aziraphale beat him to it. Under normal circumstances, the order wouldn’t have affected the outcome—the problem lied on how the angel clapped once and rubbed his hands together instead of closing the distance between them, rising from his seat in one smooth movement. </p><p>"Alright, get up!" </p><p>The command was thoroughly ignored. Crowley merely stared at him from where he stood, completely dumbstruck. </p><p>"Excuse me?" </p><p>"Get up!" Aziraphale repeated, extending his palms and beckoning him closer. "Come on, let's get started." </p><p>"Look, I might not know as much as <em> you </em> do," Crowley dared to argue. "But this is not a 'standing up' kind of activity." </p><p>Aziraphale cocked his head to one side, seeming genuinely puzzled. </p><p>"What? Don't be silly, come on!" </p><p>After a moment of hesitation Crowley finally did as he was told, not knowing what to expect. He thought he knew a lot about humans. How could he have missed a detail like that? Had everything he learned about the process been a lie? </p><p>All the pieces fell into place when an upbeat tune started on the bookshop’s old phonograph. </p><p>In a flourished movement, Aziraphale locked arms with him—from the side instead of the front—and started flexing his legs to the rhythm. </p><p>"Alright," the angel coached. "Try and move like I do, okay?" </p><p>They were finally on the same page then, and, for Crowley, that meant finally catching on to the fact that all this time Aziraphale had been talking about teaching him how to dance the gavotte. </p><p><em> The fucking gavotte, </em> he mentally repeated, not even paying attention to Aziraphale's constant shower of encouragements as he waggled about in a half hearted attempt to mimic his steps. </p><p>That wasn't to say he spent the whole time being carried around like dead weight, though. Aziraphale's beaming excitement rubs off on him eventually, and he tried his best to not let his dancing partner down, even adding a few demonic moves of his own to the mix eventually. </p><p>The lesson went on for quite a while. Leaning against each other for support, they spun and laughed around, knocking a few pieces of furniture over and breaking some wine glasses on the floor—which would definitely have to be miracled clean when this was all over. </p><p>"And then we'd switch partners," Aziraphale announced at some point, clearly out of breath. "Greeting the next one like this, see?" </p><p>After an exaggerated reverence, he took hold of Crowley’s hands and locked their lips together with an audible smack. Just a gentle peck on his lips before he let go of him completely. </p><p>Crowley stared blankly ahead in startled silence as the angel walked past him, bringing a hand to his mouth like he needed some kind of proof that his angel's soft lips had really just been there. </p><p>"Ah, that was fun," Aziraphale sighed, collapsing on the sofa with a look of absolute delight in his face. </p><p>Crowley’s laughter matched his until he sat by his side as well, but died as soon as he rested his elbows on his knees, lowering his face into his palms in utter defeat. </p><p>"W-what's the matter, Crowley?" Aziraphale called out, full of concern. "You seem upset." </p><p>The music stopped abruptly. Crowley is sure he ruined the mood but still couldn't bring himself to answer. </p><p>"Please don't be sad," Aziraphale added, shifting so he could wrap a reassuring arm around his shoulder. "I'm sure you'll get better with more practice-" </p><p>"I'm not upset about being bad at dancing," Crowley finally snapped, jerking away from him. "It's just- that's not what I had in mind!" </p><p>Aziraphale threw his head back slightly, furrowing his brows in an obvious glimmer of suspicion. </p><p>"That's not?" </p><p>"Of course not," Crowley hissed, rolling his eyes. "You got the totally wrong idea!" </p><p>"If you didn't want me to teach you the gavotte, what could you have possibly meant?" </p><p>"Get with the program, darling! We're running out of time," the demon blurted out, snapping fingers for his attention. "The world will be ending soon and I still haven't got the chance to touch you!” </p><p>Crowley raked a hand through his own hair, channeling all his frustration into the movement. </p><p>“At least I get to discorporate knowing what it’s like to kiss you now, thanks for that,” he mused, speaking more to himself than anything. “There were still so many things I would like to try, though. <em> For fuck’s sake </em>, I’d let you do anything to me." </p><p>Aziraphale is the one startled into silence then, staring at him with wide, astonished eyes. </p><p>"Do you get it now?” Crowley mocked. “I thought you were talking about having sex, angel. Sexual, <em> human </em> intercourse!" </p><p>One of Aziraphale's hands rose to his chest and his mouth fell open with an outraged gasp. </p><p>"<em>Crowley!</em>" </p><p>There it was. </p><p>So much for six thousand years of taking things slowly. </p><p>The words kept coming out of his mouth before he could even think about hitting the brakes, driving him 120 miles per hour into a bottomless pit of despair. </p><p>Casting his eyes to the floor, he let the realization of what he had just done hit him, dwelling over whether he should turn back time in order to take it all back or fast forward eleven years into the future so the world could just end already. Anything sounded better than what was about to follow. </p><p>Soon enough Aziraphale would be kicking him out of his bookshop. Possibly in the most literal sense of the word. That wasn’t even the bad part of it, he was familiar with the concept of being kicked out of places, after all. In that scenario, however, the act would most likely mark the end of their arrangement. After that, they would go back to being sworn enemies and never speak again. </p><p>No matter the outcome of the holy versus unholy war, everything would be as good as over. </p><p>He sucked in a sharp breath when he noticed Aziraphale moving from the corner of his eyes, fully expecting an angry outburst to start. </p><p>"If that's what you wanted you should have just said so." </p><p>Crowley whirled around, surprised and flustered to find a sweet, soft smile in Aziraphile’s face. </p><p>"I... I could have just miracled a flower, you know? For our dance." </p><p>"What does that have to do with-" </p><p>"I didn't," Aziraphale cut him off. "Because I might have been curious as well. About knowing what kissing you would be like." </p><p>After everything that happened, Crowley just couldn't believe his ears. </p><p>"You— really?" </p><p>"I mean, I'm not sure I could go as far as to- <em> you know- </em> oh, dear, I don't think I'd be able to-" </p><p>Crowley swallowed, patiently waiting for something that resembled a coherent sentence. </p><p>"What I mean is," the angel tried again, cupping his face with both hands and gently stroking his cheeks. "I suppose we could try it again, if you want. Without the dancing this time." </p><p>Much to Crowley's delight, it seemed like they were on the same page again. The right one at last. Without wasting any more time, he closed his eyes and tilted his head closer to Aziraphale’s, setting them both alight with their very first—or rather, second —contact. </p><p>He brushed their lips together, lingered, and then broke away when he felt Aziraphale smile into their kiss. </p><p>"You know, you're officially forbidden from ruining the sacred memory of gavotte with your disco moves," the angel laughed, jokingly smacking his chest. </p><p>"Oh, shut up," Crowley teased. "I totally nailed it back then." </p><p>Aziraphale nuzzled their lips again. "Dear boy, we both know you didn't." </p><p>"Pretty sure I did," Crowley insisted, wrapping his arms around his neck and leaning forward to deepen their kiss. </p><p>Somewhere next to them, the music started playing again, and Crowley suspected they’d have a whole new category of activities to explore during their meetings before the end of the world.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Whoa, I can't believe it's been a year since I've written this. Can't believe it's been a year since Good Omens aired, for that matter! Never got around to publishing it because I had only written the middle and ending, but I finally picked it up again today so I could finish! Thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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